What We Learnt as Aston Villa Fans After Villa Scrape Through FA Cup

Three games, one goal scored (and it was another beauty), but even three clean sheets and a ticket to the 4th round of the FA Cup to play AFC Bournemouth wasn’t enough to quell the first overt signs that fans aren’t happy. With the transfer window open, then a game against Leicester before a potentially horrific three match run, what can fans take from the recent run of games?

YAWN

Even the most blinkered of fans, passionate in their support for Lambert and “the lads”, would have to confess the last three games have hardly been action-packed. The new passing tactics of building from the back… then passing all the way back to Guzan quite often… might well be the polar opposite of the “wait for it… wait… for… it…HOOOOF! RUN! GO GO GO!” that the team was using a few weeks ago. It’s as though someone playing Football Manager 2008 slid the tactics slide from “fast tempo, long ball” to “slow tempo, short passing” and expected it to work miracles.

Even the most blinkered of fans, passionate in their support for Lambert and “the lads”, would have to confess the last three games have hardly been action-packed. The new passing tactics of building from the back… then passing all the way back to Guzan quite often… might well be the polar opposite of the “wait for it… wait… for… it…HOOOOF! RUN! GO GO GO!” that the team was using a few weeks ago. It’s as though someone playing Football Manager 2008 slid the tactics slide from “fast tempo, long ball” to “slow tempo, short passing” and expected it to work miracles.

But it’s what fans were crying out for. Some actual football, not the kick and rush, defending inside our own area, lumping it and legging after it that could have been played by stray dogs. But to say “be careful what you wish for” would be cheap. It’s not the finished article but it still overlooks the fact that Villa players are professional footballers. Their ability to do things with a football that the man in the street can’t do is why their weekly salary is more than the ordinary non-footballing person earns in a year. But this new style isn’t particularly demonstrative of that either. Most importantly, it hasn’t shored up the defense that much more and it certainly hasn’t added to the creativity up front. So what’s the answer?

GREALISH

Jack Grealish? That was the fan solution to the lack of goals. Most fans have still only seen him play for a couple of hours in total, and yes he’s shown a few flashes. He was a little tough on himself via Twitter after the Blackpool game saying he was “cr**” and fans were a little too scathing saying he had finally been given his chance and “blown it”, but as is so often the case with footballing arguments, the truth is probably somewhere in between “crap” and “just what the doctor ordered”.

I’m sure Blackpool weren’t happy to see he was getting a starting place over N’Zogbia (who proved his Villa career is going nowhere after coming on as a sub, getting booked, and otherwise doing very little else in his half-hour or so on the field).

Nobody is suggesting Grealish go back to picking carrots for the Villa publicity department but once again, as with the switch in team playing style, the fans got what they were screaming out for – and it didn’t go all that well. So far. So, what’s the answer?

WE WANT LAMBERT….

Everyone in the media and at the game on Sunday would have heard the dissent from the stands calling for Lambert to be fired. Trying to figure out why it should have started during this particular game, at this particular part of the season, isn’t all that clear. Yes, at the time the game was petering out towards a 0-0 draw against a team a division below Villa (and likely to be relegated at the ends of this season unless they can start scoring) but with fans still at odds with each other about whether he should stay (“who else would take the job?” “he’s got no money to spend” “anyone else would be struggling just the same”) or go (“he’s pi**ed away millions”, “his tactics aren’t working”, “he’s had plenty of time and nothing has improved”) this was perhaps a defining moment in the short-term future of the club.

Parents out there know what unconditional love is all about. Your kids can drive you crazy. They can drive you to despair. But they can make you feel like the happiest person in the world. What’s hard to take is when they disappoint you. Even if you aren’t a parent yourself, you’ve probably heard your mum and dad say: “I’m disappointed in you” and it crushes to the bone.

That’s what it’s like supporting a football team – you can be the team’s biggest fan, but not be happy with how things are going because you know they can do better. And you want them to be the best they can. In the eyes of some fans, what looked like a third successive 0-0 draw against a team you would hope Villa would sweep aside comfortably, those fans were calling Villa to the living room and saying: “We need to talk about your recent behaviour…”

And Mr Lambert didn’t like that very much at all. His comments that it was “strange” after his team had shown their “dominance” of the ball (in narrowly scraping their first win in six games). He appeared to shoulder the blame, but then deflect it back to the fans in saying: “I have no problem. I have had it all my career. But it doesn’t do the lads any good… The players will be hurt by it.” So the it’s okay for fans to air their views, and he will take it like a man, but it hurts the team so maybe you should go to your rooms and think about what you did?

But if “tough love” (as opposed to pure hatred) isn’t the answer, what is?

WINDOW OPEN

One of the best measures of success in the Premier League is wages. You pay top dollar, you get results. Villa tried that under O’Neill and it went some way to keeping Villa ahead of the pack. The problem was while Chelsea and Man City were paying top players top money, Villa were committing above average wages to below average talent and… well, here we are.

January windows are tough to negotiate. Most of the reports linked to Villa are more about players leaving (Delph: Liverpool or Spurs, Vlaar: Napoli, Benteke: Man City) than coming in (Sinclair on loan… again) but if Lambert is now happier with his patient possession football, then he needs to do one of two things – let the players have some creative freedom or get some other ones who will fit the style better.

Fitness doesn’t look like a problem, but the cutting edge final ball still isn’t there. Vlaar leaving wouldn’t be a disaster given the form of Okore and Clark. Delph leaving probably would be a disaster, especially if it was on the cheap. And selling Benteke can’t even be considered. Joe Cole is not the long-term solution but if he can stay fit he can help. But if Lambert wants to take Villa forward using this new style, he needs to invest in just a couple of £9-10m players, on loan if he has to, to make it a lot less predictable and dull, regardless of the clean sheets and the fact Benteke will probably go ahead and keep Villa up by himself again.

4 COMMENTS

the defence is the fifth best in the division,. Look at the stats. One thing Lambert has done very well is to stop leaking goals, and with Hutton in from the cold and playing out his skin, both Lambert’s centre back signings being excellent – senderos I am not sure of as he has not played recently – Clark and Baker coming on well and Cissokho stopping the crisis at left back, that side of things has improved,.

However goals win matches, and he has this window to provide the goal scorers. Hopefully a winger.

However there is no doubt fans have had enough though booing before the end of the game is out of order.

I personally do not want to see Grealish risked at this stage of his career., Those fans who called for a 19 year old as though he could be a miracle cure are risking destroying him. The Notts County manager said he would be a good player at 21.

Two years to go. Much to learn. And what has happened to Callum Robinson? These kids should be out on loan preferably in the championship. Young players don’t make for a successful side, whatever Ferguson did in 1995-96

The margin for error for Lambert is however now wafer thin. If the club had any sense at all, they would be building bridges to the fans. The Trust poll in the spring showed over 80% of the fans polled did not think the club listened to them

I think we have all hammered this subject to death, we all know what we need and I for one prefer the current style of football to the hoof and hope style which we never really perfected. The truth is that for Paul Lambert this is a make or break window. Our survival (not his) depends on the business done over the next few weeks, I am holding my breath.

first thing adam,,,, are you saying the defence is not much better,,, because to me it is brilliant
sure we have the odd scare but we are the best in the league on current form
and that is f* ing mental

but as someone has pointed out, we need better crosses and more goals from them

and the way the team pass and move and control the ball is unbelievable,, and we have taken the piss against most of the teams we have just played, in fact there was a spell against united where we held the ball for a long time and we went from side to side and probed with ease

its just that final ball, and movement in the last third,, it will come but it may take time
we are just not used to the increased possession and breaking through deep lying defenses
lambert has his work cut out , we must give him time

Code: 3Retro10 for 10% off

Code: MOMS10 for 10% off

My Old Man Said (MOMS) is an award-winning football blog & podcast. MOMS is also on the National Council of the Football Supporters Federation (FSF) and has been to Parliament, the Premier League offices and beyond in addressing supporter issues. UTV

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here:
Cookie Policy